Former NSW premier, Bob Carr, reckons the discussions at the 2020 Summit represent what democracy is all about. He shares his views on a republic, health and the virtue of talking.
Submitted
28/04/2008
By
Andrew
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Updated
28/04/2008
How do you feel to be here today?
Well I feel fantastic to be here. We are going to spend the next couple of days trying to work out how to make Australia’s future even better that it’s already going to be, and that’s a very fine thing.
Are you concerned that it’s just going to be talking? Do you think something stronger needs to be implemented?
Well talking is what democracies do. The alternative to talking is to shoot one another in the streets or throw opponents in jail. Don’t downplay talking—talking is what democracies do and there’s nothing wrong with it.
Is there a big idea that you’ll be bringing to the table?
Oh, a lot of big ideas.
An easy way to get a republic, by simply making the Governor-General the Head of State of Australia. That resolves all the arguments about presidents and elected presidents or non-elected presidents.
The other idea is that we tackle our health by dealing with the causes of ill-health. That means having a calorie count on the menue of a chain restaurant. So, if there’s more than 15 restaurants in a chain then they have to indicate the calories of every item on the menue. Oh, and banning trans-fats…simply banning them…in order to rescue our nation from this crisis of diabetes and heart disease caused by obesity.
Another big idea… oh I could go on forever, but I won’t.
Thanks for your time
